


Road Illness

by Fernatticus



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Carrying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Hurt Nott (Critical Role), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernatticus/pseuds/Fernatticus
Summary: Nott gets sick on the road and refuses to admit it. Nott is a terrible liar.
Relationships: Nott & Caleb Widogast
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	Road Illness

Caleb and Nott had been travelling partners for approximately 5 months. In that time, Caleb had become irrationally attached to the small, loyal goblin girl with deft fingers and penchant for small shiny baubles and trinkets. They walked side by side towards their next destination which was a small town west of Alfield. While being in a more populated area brought it's risks, he was also excited to dip a toe back into society. Every once and a while he needed a reminder of what being a person was.

"So how long 'till we get there?" Nott asked. 

"About a day and a half if we continue at this pace," He told her, imagining a map in his mind. She nodded and her eyes flickered back to the side of the road where various flowers of a remarkable color spectrum grew. He smiled a bit to himself as he watched her gather a few pretty flowers and pick the petals, leaving the leaflets behind them. When he had just started travelling with her, neither of them trusted each other. She was harsh and sharp and never let her guard down. She was intensely distrustful of him, but still stayed with him. They worked together from necessity. She needed a drink, he needed books and they both wanted to survive. That wasn't to say he was any better, but after enough shared near death experiences they both slowly began to trust each other. She showed her softness for the first time when she showed off a small collection of buttons she had assembled. She had been a little shy about it, but he found it so endearing he offered a button off his shirt to add to the collection. After that, she was more up front about her collections.

It was in his brief moments of gazing that he noticed that she was sweating. His first thought was to dismiss it, but he couldn't rationalize it. The weather wasn't freezing, but it certainly wasn't warm. He was also wearing heavier clothes than her and he was pretty unbothered. His next idea was exhaustion, which made equally less sense. They had only been walking a couple of hours and she was much more resilient than he was. 

"Ehm- Nott?" He called her attention. Her ears flittered and she turned to face him fully. 

"Yes, Caleb?" She responded, putting a small yellow flower into her pocket. He considered how he should phrase the question before settling on the direct approach.

"You look a bit tired. Do we need to stop?" He asked. Clearly this phrasing was wrong, as she frowned a bit, her ears lowering slightly.

"No, I'm okay.” She dismissed his concern immediately. “Do you need to stop?" Nott had a habit of doing this, deflecting concern onto him to avoid concern for herself. It was an issue and had led to instances of him finding untreated wounds "too minor to bother with". He sighed and accepted this. Nott was many things if not stubborn. 

The two of them continued to walk, and eventually the sun began to set. During the walk, Caleb kept an eye on Nott. While she was typically quite quick, only slowing down for him, she dragged behind a bit, every once and a while picking up speed to get ahead. Deciding it was time to camp, they searched around for a clearing. Nott found one relatively deep into the woods and the two of them set up their campsite. Caleb set up his thread and lit a campfire, while Nott went through their packs, preparing the rations they had stolen in the last town. With Frumpkin resting on a log nearby, the two of them ate their meals next to the campfire.

"What kind of people are in this town?" She inquired, nibbling on her jerky.

"Mostly humans and halflings. You'll fit in a little better here," He told her, giving her a half smile. She sort of bit the inside of her cheek.

"Life would be a lot... easier... if I were a halfling," She mused with a far away expression before returning to her normal demeanor. He frowned. Her eyes were half lidded and even next to the fire she looked pale. 

"Halflings are less hearty than goblins I think." He thought back to something he had read about halflings back in Blumenthal. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I guess that's true," She agreed. Usually at night she was much more energetic and would entertain him with ravings about one of her collections or a cool thing she had seen. It was always a nice end to the night. She added so much personality into her speech that he always listened to what she said. Tonight, however, was different. She was curled up on herself with a tired expression. It took a moment for him to realize that she was shivering.

"Are you feeling alright, little one?" He asked, looking her up and down. Yes, definitely shivering. Her eyes met his and her face flushed from the attention. 

"Y-yeah!" She assumed her typical demeanor unconvincingly. "Just a little tired is all." 

"I will take the first watch then," He announced. It was a small enough kindness she didn't put up a fight. In the time it took for Caleb to finish, Nott finished chewing on half her ration, storing the rest for later. He took a mental note of this. She usually ate fervently, like she wouldn't eat for another week after. It was a little creepy, and a little cute. 

The light from the fire died down a bit as Caleb took post. With Frumpkin on his shoulder, he began his watch. Nott had already curled up in her bedroll, tucked into herself like a cat. On nights when they didn't find the need to take watch, she would curl up into his chest for warmth. In her sleep she would purr, and those vibrations were the most grounding and endearing things he had experienced in years. 

He looked over at his little friend who was currently turned away from the fire. Upon looking for a moment longer, he realized she was shaking, this time much worse than at dinner. This wasn't completely rare. She had nightmares quite often, and when they occurred Caleb tried his best to console her. This, however, looked different, and Caleb felt a lot more concerned. He already knew the answer to his questions, but the answer was one he didn't like.

She was sick.

Caleb grimaced, from frustration and pity. The frustration came from the fact that they were a day away from civilization and medicine and that they were dirt poor. The pity came from how miserable she looked bundled in on herself. She was so resilient, but even she could fall ill. For a moment he pondered if he was to blame for her illness. Maybe the stress of travel and danger was taking a toll on her. She was an adult, but she was still small and terribly skinny. Caleb didn't have much experience caring for others in illness, but he had read about how to deal with this. She needed water, medicine and rest. Food was also pretty important.

The night was colder than the day, but Caleb wasn't cold. He crept over to Nott's curled up body and gently wrapped his scarf around her. He poofed Frumpkin to his neck and continued his watch, keeping a watchful eye on his companion. Usually watches lasted 4 hours, but Caleb stayed up much longer than that. He felt incredibly guilty when he crawled over to Nott's restful body and gently shook her awake.

"Is my watch up?" She asked softly, scrubbing her eyes. She looked exhausted and his heart tightened, but he needed to sleep as well. This was only the beginning of an illness, he hoped.

"Ja. Sorry," He apologized. She sighed and sat up.

"It's fine. It's my turn anyway." She stood up a little shakily, finding a good log to sit on. She propped her crossbow up on her knee. She was clearly trying to hide her symptoms from him, and he was saddened she wouldn't tell him if she was in distress. "G'night Cay."

Caleb nodded and took his spot in his bedroll. Staying up longer for his watch meant it was much easier to fall asleep, which he did within minutes. In his mind he went over the different ways he could help her, before realizing that there weren't very many. He rested peacefully and deeply. 

He woke up naturally, his internal clock used to waking up at this specific time. His eyes flickered open and he was immediately met with blinding sunlight. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked around, and his eyes fell onto Nott. She was awake and sitting in the same position she had been in last night, but she looked much, much worse. She was very pale, her eyes were glassy, and she was shaking. She looked almost nauseous and half aware of what was going on around her. She didn't notice Caleb wake up until he spoke. It was like she had a 180 overnight from slightly sick to downright ill.

"You're ill," He commented grimly. She looked taken aback at this, like she had believed she had done a good job of hiding it.

"W-what? That's-" She was cut off by Caleb pressing his hand against her forehead. Her skin was clammy and abnormally warm. 

"Scheisse." He muttered, immediately turning to his pack. He hadn't been nearly this concerned yesterday. He had hoped it would just be a minor illness, but it seemed to have gotten drastically worse over the course of the night. His throat tightened as worry consumed his mind.

"It's really fine," She lied. "I'm fine, I'm-" She was cut off by a coughing fit. 

Searching through his pack he couldn't find anything of use. They were fresh out of healing potions, and they didn't have any medicine readily available. He already knew both of these things, but that didn't stop him from anxiously searching through the pack.

"How are you feeling? Honestly." This time he asked, it was much more intense and serious. He stared intently. He watched as she prepared to lie, before comprehending the weight of his expression and resigning herself to this.

She bit her lip. "Not great." Her voice was hoarse and weak.

"Please drink as much of this as you can," He requested as he pulled out his water skin and handed it to her. She put up a hand.

"I'm good. I've got my own drink," She announced, reaching a shaky hand into her belt, retrieving her flask. 

"Absolutely not," He crossed his arms.

"Oh good!" She gave a weak, jovial smile at Caleb's unintentional name pun. He sighed and plucked the flask from her hands. She let out a small whine and pouted. 

"You need to drink. Water," He emphasized. She glowered before lifting the water to her lips. He sat there, making sure she drank enough to his heart's content. She put the water skin down and handed it back to him.

"Thank you," He put a hand on her head. She flinched slightly, before settling into the pet happily. 

Caleb walked back to the main camp and began packing up. He was accustomed to doing this so it took only a few minutes. Halfway through this process, however, he heard a scratchy cough.

"Uhm... Caleb?" Nott's voice was small, scratchy and embarrassed.

"Yes?" He responded kindly, turning to face her. She wasn't even looking at him, and she was nervously picking at the flower from earlier.

"I'm kind of cold... Could I..." She trailed off. Without hesitation, he walked over to where she was sitting and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. He took his scarf off the bedroll where she had left it and wrapped it around her neck and up to where it covered her lips. It was much bigger on her than it was on him, and he secured it as best as possible. 

"Gut?" He asked. This one of the few zemmnian words she understood. She nodded, pulling the blanket around herself tighter. He gave her a kind smile and returned to packing. He hadn't been paying much attention to it before, but she was coughing much more. It would be cute if she wasn't clearly having a bad time. Her coughs were squeaky and quiet. 

Finally, he finished. He turned back to Nott, who was zoned out, her eyes glazed over. "Time to go, Nott the Brave." She responded to her name, looking up at him. She hopped up and instantly regretted how much energy she had put into that action. Her legs wobbled, but she stayed up. She was obviously trying to seem better than she was. She was failing miserably and Caleb's chest tightened with sympathy. 

He walked over to her and lifted her into his arms. She let out a small squeak of surprise as he settled her into a position where he could still see. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her chin rested on his shoulder. He held her by the legs. Nott didn't weigh very much, and despite how weak he was, he didn't have very much difficulty carrying her.

"You don't have to-" She started.

He ignored this half hearted protest. "If you need to stop for any reason please let me know." She didn't respond, and he seriously wondered if she would actually tell him. He felt bad. He wanted to take care of her and he cared about her well being, but in the past Nott adamantly told him she didn't want to be a burden. He had reassured her she was in no way a burden, but it seemed to be something she had a difficult time doing.

The extra weight of his coughing and shaking companion in his arms only slowing him down slightly, Caleb began his trek. About an hour in, he could feel Nott's body vibrating in his arms and he could hear the soft sound of her purring, only interrupted by an occasional cough. He rubbed comforting circles into her back as they walked. About two hours into the journey, he felt her wake suddenly. She shot up and pulled away, leaning back in his grasp. 

"Put me down," She exclaimed, hopping out of his grasp. He didn't have a chance to check on her before she fell to the side of the road and threw up into the grass. Caleb quickly walked over, pulling her hair out of her face. She finished retching miserably, making Caleb's heart ache with sympathy and concern. She leaned back, wiping her mouth. Her entire body was shaking from the violent retching, and she stood back up barely. She wiped the involuntary tears from her eyes and Caleb squatted down to her level.

"I'm sorry," She whispered. "I'm a nuisance. I know. I'm sorry. Please don't leave me." She looked so guilty, and Caleb's face crumpled at the realization she had been hiding it out of fear would abandon her. He silently cursed whatever made her think this way and wiped her cheek. 

"I'm not going to leave you, and you have nothing to apologize for. You are my friend. You have saved me many times. Please allow me to take care of you," He reassured her with as much sincerity he could put in his voice. She looked so miserable and sad he couldn't help but pull her into an embrace. He held her to his chest and cradled her head, trying to provide as much comfort as he could. He could hear her muttering thanks to him and he pulled away to look her in the eyes. "I think we should stop for a bit. Just a short rest."

She put up little resistance, and they veered over to a spot off the road with a few large rocks. He set her down on a rock and began to riffle through their stuff. He removed the water and some of the leftover jerky. He turned to Nott, who was trying to bundle up further in her thin blanket.

"How much of this do you think you can consume?" He asked, raising the contents of his hands to show her. 

"I don't know. Probably not a ton," She responded honestly. Her voice conveyed less guilt and denial and he felt much better now that she was being honest with him.

"Please try to eat and drink as much as you can." He handed her the food and water. He then began removing his jacket. He didn't like being without it, but Nott looked like she was freezing. He bundled it around her. It was much bigger than she was and she was practically enveloped in the fabric. She seemed warmer in there and gave him a grateful smile. He felt pride being able to do something helpful for her, no matter how small. She began trying to eat the jerky. The sleeves were about twice the size of her arms, and she pulled them down. She began to gnaw on the jerky. She didn't spend a ton of time on it, opting for drinking the water. He understood that her stomach wouldn't feel well after throwing up, and she was clearly trying her best. She drank a good amount of water before lowering it. She looked like she was going to apologize again, so he took the stuff from her.

"Thank you, liebling," He gave her another pet on the head which she responded to with appreciation. "We can take some time here before heading out."

"I'm okay. We can go," She informed him. He squinted, trying to determine if she was lying. She blushed and added on earnestly. "Really."

"Okay. Tell me if you need anything," He said, scooping her up as she nodded. She was shaking less which was at the least an improvement. They walked for another hour or so. At one point after he could tell she wasn't asleep, he stopped and pulled her back a bit so he could look at her.

"How are you doing? Any changes?" He checked. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused and try as she might, she couldn't fully focus on him. She coughed into her sleeve before responding.

"Uhm... okay. I'm a little light headed," She told him. He touched his forehead to hers. Her fever seemed to have worsened. He adjusted his grip so her was cradling her to his chest, wanting a way to check in on her without disturbing her.

“We need to continue onward,” He explained. “You may rest. I will wake you when it’s needed.”

She gave a slight nod and drifted off once more. Caleb glanced down and bit his lip. These were poor conditions, and she needed to heal. He prayed they would soon make it to the next town.

**Author's Note:**

> UUUUUh i might add more chapters hopes aren't high folks


End file.
